Sunday, April 7, 2013

Slowly but surely snow is melting and winter is coming to an
end.I have observed a lot of progress in
the past couple of days; however we still have a ways to go before opening.The frost is down about a foot but should
lessen the next couple of days with warmer nighttime temperatures.The course is extremely water logged and once
the frost is gone we should see some improvement.Friday the course was covered in 50-60% snow but today we are at 10-20%.
﻿As far as winter kill is concerned, it is still too early to
tell if any damage has occurred on the course.Some Poa annua has greened up
and some has remained very bronze in color.To say whether or not we have any damage is premature at this
point.Once we have some consistent warm
daytime temperatures combined with above freezing nighttime temperatures we can
begin to assess what if any damage is on the course.

#8 green taken 4-7-13A pure stand of bentgrass!

#12 green taken 4-7-13Poa that has greened up since earlier in the week

Bentgrass populations are a lot higher on our golf course
today than it was just 2 or 3 years ago.Any damage that MAY have occurred will pale in comparison with 2011. It is very evident that our fine turf areas are
primarily bentgrass and that will be a great equalizer going forward.It is a testament to our program and the
benefits to managing for bentgrass. Green collars, low areas in fairways, and some isolated
greens (i.e. #13) are areas of the course most likely to experience winter kill
simply because it has the most Poa annua.If any areas have winterkill we will move
immediately to correct the problem and take the appropriate actions.